Bone is thicker than Blood
by HypnoLullaby
Summary: After the whole Kaguya clan is decimated, only two true individuals survive, one of them being Naruto. He is sent to Konoha by his mother as a means to survive, and is almost immediately introduced to the Academy. As he begins his training with Maito Gai, Hyuuga Neji and Tenten, he finds out things about his past and future he might not like. Naruto/Shikotsumyaku Naru/Ten/Tayu/Mei
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Hokage-sama, I have come as you asked. What's going on?" Konoha's Handsome Beast asked, closing the door of the Leaf Village's Leader's office behind him as he stepped in.

As he took a close look around the old, incense-smelling workplace, he felt nostalgia strike him. He had been so many times there when he was younger, begging for exciting missions that would challenge his Taijutsu skills. _I guess even I am growing old..._

In front of him, the famous chair that had been passed down from Kage to Kage stood there, empty, right in front of the old man that Gai had an extreme respect for.

The man himself was standing in front of a window, looking down at the village, as if meditating on wether his actions were right or wrong. He was wearing the old white robs and red hat, but the Jounin knew better than to think those were the only things that covered Hiruzen Sarutobi's body, having experienced the sight of the Third's body armor and helmet a few dozen of times.

"Gai, I am glad you came so quickly! Please, sit down!" the Hokage snapped out of his trance, turning around and waving to the chair in front of his own desk.

After his subordinate adjusted his seat, he himself rested his own beaten up body, feeling pain in several different spots, memories of old battles he had had.

"Now, what I've called you here for is of the highest confidentiality. It's an Ultimate Secret. Understand?"

This made the green spandex suit-wearing man raise his right eyebrow in curiosity. _Not once has Lord Hokage called me out for something like this._

None-the-less, he nodded. He wasn't about to disrespect his superior just because of an unusual situation. This seemed to relieve the old man of some of his stress.

"I am old, Gai. Very old now. There's little that can confort my fragile body, and I don't think I'm going to last many more battles like I did back in my youth. I should be retired by now. But that's no news. What I mean is, I'm too tired to deal with something of this caliber on my own, and I need you specifically for this." He confessed. Gai was dumbfounded with this whole speech.

"I will aid you to the best of my abilities, Hokage-sama, you know that! But please, you know I'm not one for riddles. Please, tell me what's going on!" he responded, seeing his leader smile in happiness and relief before sighing again.

"Alright. Please, try to not be shocked."

The old man rose from his chair and walked up to the door that lead to the bedroom he slept in when he had to work late and couldn't return home.

He took a deep breath, turned the handle and pulled it into himself, revealing the small room, equipped with a bed, a wardrobe, a bathroom and another, smaller desk.

On the bed sat a small boy, possibly six years old. He had a frown of sadness on his face as he looked at his own legs dangling from the edge of the bed. He wore a white t-shirt, a pair of black shorts, black sandals and nothing else.

His hair was shiny, clean blond, and his eyes were sky-blue. He had whisker marks on each of his cheeks. For a moment, Gai thought he was contemplating Minato when he was just a little child, before watching the boy look up at them.

"Gai, be honest, who does he look like to you?" the Hokage asked, knowing exactly what the Taijutsu master would say.

"He looks like Minato-sensei." the man confessed earning a nod from Hiruzen.

"Yes, yes he does. Which is kind of understandable, since his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

This sentence shook Maito Gai as he stood there, paralyzed in shock. _Naruto Uzumaki? He couldn't possibly mean..._

"Yes, Naruto Uzumaki. The son of Minato and Kushina, just like you're thinking..." most people had no idea what was the real name of the boy who had the Kyuubi sealed into him, and only seasoned Jounin like Kakashi and Gai knew about it.

"But I thought he had perished in the day Kyuubi was defeated! Just like Lord Fourth Hokage and his wife!"- Gai protested, trying hard to get his head around the information.

"No. That was a lie. One of many that make up a whole web which I'm going to take down for you today. First, Naruto did not die, and neither were he or his mother members of the Uzumaki clan like people had you believe."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to the poor, saddened boy and placed a conforting hand on his shoulder, extending the other.

"Naruto, could I please have the letter for a moment?" he asked. The boy hesitated, but after a couple of seconds, nodded, delivering the piece of paper to his elder.

The Third Hokage accepted it, turning around and handing it to Gai, who reluctantly took it in his hands.

"That night, Kushina and Naruto were sent away by Minato so they could live in peace and without judgement. They were sent to Kirigakure, where Kushina's real family lived. She wrote this letter not five days ago before sending her son here. Read it."

Konoha's Green Beast looked down at the letter, immediately identifying the beautiful caligraphy as the one his old kenjutsu teacher had.

"_Hiruzen-sensei, here I write my last words as a plea for help. Minato's plan to send us here let us live comfortably for little Naruto's first five years of life, but I'm afraid it's come to an end. My clan has decided it would be a good idea to try a coup on Kirigakure and an assassination on Yagura, the Mizukage. They are blinded to the truth by rage and blood-lust, but I know that this will be the end of our clan. As I write, my fellow clan members are leaving, ready for battle, and are calling me out. Unfortunately, as the Clan Leader ordered me to, I have to join myself._

_But even though I have to die, Naruto doesn't. I can not trust anyone, and so, Naruto will go to Konohagakure by himself. Do not worry, he's capable in a fight. Enough to get there._

_Getting to the point, I want you to protect him. As soon as we fail, I can predict that Yagura will plan to have the rest of our Kekkei Genkai users wiped out of the world map at all cost. I want you to take him in and have someone train him until he becomes an adult. After that, let him do whatever he wants with his life, but please take after him before. Put him in the Ninja Academy if that would help. If you can't do it for me, at least do it for Minato._

_With hope,_

_Kaguya Kushina_

_Ps: The boy has awakened his Shikotsumyaku, and has shown great ability with it already. He has been trained by our top warriors in taijutsu and kenjutsu, so he could potentially become the heir to the Leader spot. Of course, that's not much of an option now. However, if possible, I'd like you to keep the fact that he is one of us a secret until he becomes at least a Chuunin. Otherwise, he won't be able to protect himself from the Mizukage's assassins._

_Pps: I have cast the best genjutsu I have around him to hide his true hair, eye and skin colour and his Kaguya clan mark so that he has some sort of protection already. You may uncover it, but please, keep it only to those whom you trust._

Maito Gai rose his eyes from the letter up to the Hokage's eyes, his face one of pure shock as he was still trying to process the information that his brain had just received. Inside of his mind, the thoughts were something along the lines of: _What? No, that, but, what?_ And alike.

Finally, he managed to drag out a few words.

"So, the boy here is the last decendant of the Kaguya? The last user of the Dead Bone Pulse?" he muttered, receiving a nod from his leader.

"Precisely. And that's not all. Look at him and perform the genjutsu disspelling technique."

Gai thought there was simply nothing else that could really impress him further, and he held his hands in the Ram seal.

"Kai."

Again, he was wrong. Naruto's image blurred before revealing his true self, which dragged a gasp out of the taijutsu-user.

The boy's hair was absolutely white. As white as the wall behind him and the clouds above the office, and as spiked up as a hedgehog's thorns. His skin was rather pale, and his eyes weren't sky-blue anymore, but blood red now.

Aside all that, though, the strangest thing were the two red dots on his forehead, which seemed like sharp fang incisions, but which to the more cult, were easily recognizeable as the Kaguya clan's traditional marking. At a wave of the hand, the Hokage had the Jounin return the letter before both left the room, closing the door for some privacy.

"W-Well...this proves it, I guess. But you still haven't told me why you've called me here, Hokage-sama." the man pointed out, too shocked to be even more shocked. Hiruzen sighed.

"The answer is simple, Gai. You know, just like any Jounin that the Kaguya , because of their Shikotsumyaku and natural talents were, and still are the best taijutsu fighters in the world. You and I both know that the best taijutsu user in this village is you." the Hokage responded.

"So you want me to be his mentor? But Hokage-sama, I thought we had already agreed upon me being the sensei of Neji, Tenten and Lee. I don't have vacant spots in my team. Besides, Naruto is two years too young to graduate at the same time as them! Can't you send the kid to Kakashi? He's got an empty spot, and he's better with Kekkei Genkai than me!" Gai retaliated.

The Third Hokage sighed. He always had been a patient one, and he couldn't really blame one of his top Jounin for feeling reluctant about entering a certain area of the ninja arts, but today was not the day for patience.

"GOD DAMN IT, GAI! LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY, WILL YOU?"- he shouted at the top of his lungs. Thank Kami for the privacy jutsu.

"Y-Yes, Hokage-sama. Forgive me for my insolence."

The old man took a few puffs out of the pipe he lit up, regaining his posture as he turned to the window in his office, contemplating his village.

"I have already thought about the matter. Lee could become quite the taijutsu expert, but I feel like his ineptitude for the other arts would end up in severe injury or worse. He will train with Kakashi, who will educate him in speed, ninja tools and genjutsu. I have a feeling that if we press the illusion arts further into the boy, he could very well become our next Uchiha Shisui."

Gai gave no answer, as he knew that it would only end in disrespecting and angering the old Hokage. Besides, what he had said was actually quite possible.

Hiruzen turned around, facing the Handsome Beast.

"Now you have a vacant spot. About the rest, everything is prepared as well. Naruto already has combat abilities well above the Academy Students, so it is quite possible for me to sneak him into said Academy right now."

"Tenten and Neji are already two years into the Academy and are both seven years old. Don't you think Naruto should be entering the Academy's first year now? I mean, wouldn't it be an overload for someone who's probably never had any formal education on chakra and any ninja ability?"- this time, Gai couldn't keep his mouth shut. And with a reason, it was insane to send a five year old two years ahead without having at least one year of studying. But to his luck, the Hokage simply smiled.

"It's specifically because of the overload that I'm sending him two years ahead. It all fits perfectly. He gets to graduate with Tenten and Neji, he gets to be busy enough not to worry about his clan's and mother's deaths, and he gets enough of a challenge to actually develop, instead of spending his first two Academy years bored out of his mind. Trust me, Kushina definitely educated him. She doesn't play around with those things."- he finished his case. Gai was convinced.

"Alright, Hokage-sama. I admit I was mistaken then. But what will you have me train the boy in? Taijutsu alone or more?"- he asked as the Third smiled, knowing he had won him over.

"Develop his speed and strength as much as you can, but don't overlook Kenjutsu. I also want you to train him in technique and weapon-using, since the Shikotsumyaku is very focused on that as well. Basically, give him the training you'd give Lee and Tenten. Now, Gai, can I trust on you to follow these orders?"

The Handsome Beast considered and pondered over the words for a few seconds, knowing that this could either be great or an extreme pain in the ass.

"You want me to train him after he graduates as I would train a son. I can do that, Hiruzen-sensei. But I want you to promise me never to interfere in our training. I know what I'm doing. For example, if I want to teach him the Hidden Lotus technique, you won't say a thing. That is the condition I have."

The Hokage thought about it for a moment before smiling.

"Alright."

…...

**The Next Day**

The small, five year old Naruto readied himself for the Academy as he threw on the clothes that the Third Hokage had given him for the day.

They were simple. A white shirt with long sleeves that went down past his arms and fists, and a pair of equally long pants, though the boy had tied them to his ankles with bandages. He still wore the black sandals his mother had given him before he came to the village.

The white-haired boy had spent the night in a room inside the Sarutobi Clan Compound, which was the same as saying he spent the night in a room as large as an apartment, inside a palace.

It was more than enough, but apparently, it wasn't quite enough for the Kage, as he carefully noted that it was just a temporary measure, while the builders he hired were working towards creating the Kaguya Clan Compound nearby. Of course, it was all a tremendous secret, and no one knew for whom the patch of land that was being worked on belonged to.

The Third had given Naruto quick directions to the Academy, and thanks to the boy's sponge-like mind, he quickly absorbed the information, knowing he'd have no trouble following it later.

From what he was told, the Kaguya heir was going to be tested on his first day, since he was two years too young to actually participate in the year. He would have to demonstrate his knowledge in Genjutsu, the little Ninjutsu he knew, and his Taijutsu abilities in a spar with another student.

Naruto didn't mind any of this, since it kept his head off of his mother's passing. Besides, making friends sounded exciting enough.

He walked out of the Compound, barely seeing anyone except the staff, before walking down the street.

He received weird looks from most civilians, since none recognized the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy that was heading to the Academy, but he managed to live it down, not really worrying himself with such things.

What actually worried him, though, were the shadows that skipped through the roofs on his peripherical vision, following him around. He didn't like it when people followed him around. It always managed to annoy and anger that other side of himself.

However, Naruto forced himself to calm down. After everything the Third had done for him, the least he could do was not kill anyone from the village.

…...

After ten minutes of walking, he finally came across the large building that was both the Ninja Academy, the Hokage's Office and the Jounin Standby Station.

_The old man said to take the corridor on the left and enter the third door to the right._ He thought to himself as he walked past the slide-door, closing it behind himself.

The small boy walked along the predetermined path as he checked the wall clock. He was just in time.

Naruto knocked twice before pushing the door to the side.

"May I enter, sensei?" he politely asked as he was instructed to do so by his mother everytime he was about to walk in on someone's territory.

"Of course! Please do! Class, meet Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka Umino responded with all the joy and excitement in the world. He seemed like a pretty fun person.

As soon as they heard Naruto's first words, the whole class turned their heads to look at the loose-clothed, blond boy with whisker marks on his cheeks.

Most girls blushed at his presence, most boys thought he looked cool, but one or two thought he looked like a cute child, just like all of them were.

"Thank you, where should I sit?" the boy interrogated, stepping further inside. It was a rather large classroom,with at least fifty students, each in one of the two-student tables.

"Oh, uh, why don't you sit next to Tenten over there? Would you mind, Tenten?" he suggested, receiving a shy shake of the head from the bun-haired girl. Naruto smiled and quickly hurried over, sitting next to her by the lower left corner of the classroom.

"Actually, could you wait just a bit and come here to my side so you can introduce yourself to the class?" Iruka asked, and he almost felt like slapping his own face. Of course he had to introduce himself, you can't just waltz into a classroom and sit down like it's nobody's business.

He walked over to Iruka's side and wondered as to what to say.

"Just say your name, age, where you come from and what you like doing!" the teacher suggested, happy as could be. He was a really nice person.

"Well, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I am five years old, and I come from Kirigakure. I like meat, training and practicing with my sword." he introduced himself, making most of his class mates form perfect "O"s with their mouths, deep in awe.

"Kirigakure? Why did you live there? Was your family there?" a student asked.

"Yes, my family used to live there. My mom too, but, not anymore..."

"You said you were five years old. You do know that this class if for seven year old students, right?" another commented. Iruka laughed at this.

"That's right, and that would be the normal case, but Hokage-sama personally asked to let him into this class. From what he said, Naruto's really strong!"

After this response, all but one of the students were awed by the blond boy. The only one that remained emotionless and cold was a boy with long, brown hair and white eyes. However, he didn't say a thing.

"Now, if there are no more questions, Naruto, you can go to your place. I am going to ask you a couple of questions about Genjutsu throughout the class to see what you know, and will have you show me the Ninjutsu you know later. Is that ok with you?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei. Thank you."

He hurried over to his seat, noticing that Tenten was smiling at him with her steel-gray eyes. He smiled back, naturally.

"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. It's good to meet you."

…...

**Several Hours Later**

Most of the day had already passed. The subject of said day was Geography and other Hidden Villages, where Iruka had Naruto speak about Kirigakure, how it looked like and what Genjutsu were common around the place, testing his knowledge.

A bit later, Iruka, accompanied by another sensei, Mizuki, took the whole class for the weapon-throwing range, where they tested the boy's aim with shuriken and kunai, and later, had him show his Ninjutsu knowledge.

In their opinion, at least on Genjutsu, Bukijutsu (Weapon Techniques) and Ninjutsu, the boy had straight A's, since he demonstrated great depth of knowledge about the first, fantastic ability in the second, an advanced arsenal of the third, not only made up of the Bunshin and Kawarimi jutsu, but also more difficult jutsu, like the Kirigakure (Hiding in the Mist) jutsu.

But the time to evaluate his skills in the third and final basic Shinobi ability, Taijutsu, had come. They gathered the whole bunch of students right in front of the Academy, so that they could have Naruto spar with one of them.

Iruka approached the blond with a clay pot filled with white balls.

"Now, Naruto, inside this small pot, each ball has a number. Take on out, and the number that you took will correspond to the student that you will face. Do you understand?" he asked, receiving an affirmative nod.

The boy placed his hand inside the container and rumbled through the bulk of the balls a bit before taking out a single one.

"Number Fourty-Seven." he announced as he read it.

Almost immediately, the enthusiasm and excitement of the students died out as their faces turned sad and pitiful.

"Awh, bad luck, man. You picked the absolute worst." one of them commented. Naruto seemed confused.

"I, Hyuuga Neji, am number Fourty-Seven." the long-haired, white-eyed boy claimed, calmly approaching Naruto.

As the blond looked to his side, Iruka was still smiling at him.

"Now, Naruto, you seem like a pretty polite, nice young man. But you can't be nice right now! You have to be as serious as possible so we can properly grade you, alright? You two will start the match when you perform the confrontation seal, and it will end when one of you can't continue, time where you will perform the reconciliation seal. Understand?"

Naruto nodded before facing his opponent. He looked serious and strong, but also had a tone of arrogancy in his stance, which meant the blond had something to exploit. _When facing an arrogant opponent, hit fast and hard. Finish the match as soon as you can. It'll probably be your only chance. _ His mother's words echoed through his head.

Both performed the half Ram seal as a ways to start the match, but still, both stood in their places, trying to predict their opponent's actions.

Suddenly, Naruto pulled out a kunai armed with an exploding tag, and threw it straight at Neji, who simply catched it between his right index and middle fingers, spun and threw it back at its owner, watching it stick to the ground in front of the boy's feet and explode, creating a cloud of black smoke, more than enough to mask Naruto's movements for a few moments.

As the cloud dissipated and the boy was nowhere in sight, Neji grew frustrated and decided to bring out the big guns.

"Byakugan!" he proclaimed as he activated his Kekkei Genkai, drawing a gasp out of everyone. It was definitely over.

Out of nowhere, the Hyuuga sharply turned to the right to just barely block the right roundhouse that met his forearms with tremendous force. _By Kami, it almost broke my bones!_

The white-eyed boy decided to reciprocate by rotating his arms, ready to grab his attacker's leg, but it was no longer there, as Naruto had ducked under the grab.

Now, Neji was unbalanced, with his left leg up in the air behind him as he tripped on the blond, who quickly rose, lifting the Hyuuga with his back, ducking again, leaving his opponent in mid-air and rising one last time, effectively flipping the boy so that he was airborne while upside down.

Naruto spun and slapped an exploding tag on his opponent's stomach before hitting him with a right side-kick, making Neji double over and fall on his back, rolling around before springing up to his feet.

The Hyuuga had shock splayed on his face as he grasped his own torso in pain. Then, he remembered the exploding tag and quickly ripped it off, taking his time to read it.

After a second, he realized that it was a mere fake, and the symbols were a stupid, special ramen recipe.

The frustration and indignation that formed on his facial expression when he noticed he had been fooled were nothing compared to the agony and surprise that showed as soon as he rose his eyes to see Naruto's fist strike his stomach again, in a right uppercut.

He was again, doubled over, except he was hovering above the air for a second as the blond released him, following up with a right roundhouse which sent him tumbling through the ground and into the crowd of students, opening up a small area.

Naruto himself was serenity incarnate, as he slowly let his breath out.

Neji, though, was in a different state. He was trying to get up, but quickly gave up, knowing he was too beat up to do so on his own. Which only added to the shock he received when Naruto approached and extended his hand, helping him up. Hesitatingly, the Hyuuga accepted the request for the Reconciliation Seal.

"Just tell me and there will be no grudges between us. How did you beat me that quickly and easily?" he asked. Naruto smiled and shrugged.

"It wasn't easy. The thing is, you were underestimating me, which left you open for an attack. Always take your opponents seriously, and you shall never fail. Besides, you trust your eyes too much. No offense, but your eyes aren't of much use if your body is not trained enough to respond to quick attacks such as mine."

It took Neji a couple of seconds to digest the information, but ultimately just accepted it, smiling to the boy that would be considered his first real friend.

**Chapter 1 for you, folks. I've actually wanted to do a Shikotsumyaku fic for a long time, and now that I've got the whole plot in mind, I'm putting it to work. I hope you all enjoy reading it, and if you do, please Follow/Favorite or Review. It helps a lot! Any suggestion or doubt you might have, either Pm me or Review, and I promise I'll answer as quickly as possible! Cheers!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

From then on, Naruto became the second candidate to the "Rookie of the Year" award, scoring straight A's in pretty much every subject available to the students, always right above Neji in every scoredboard.

Speaking of the Hyuuga, both him and Naruto faced off in many bore battles, every single one of them ending in the same result as the first one. Neji was slowly closing the gap between him and his blond friend, but never quite got there. But even though they had a rematch at least every day, their contact never went further than it, both walking off to their own business.

Naruto himself had developed a whole lot in the last seven years. Sure, he wasn't training with Gai yet, but his Clan Compound had its own Training Ground, where he practiced with his Kekkei Genkai and Taijutsu almost religiously. He was now able to pretty much sense someone coming and rarely had to look in order to block a strike. However, his growth was limited, as he had no sensei.

Aside school, training and the daily spar with the white-eyed prodigy, Naruto had practically nothing to do and no one to be with, soon growing bored.

He needed something to distract him, and without the regular assassins that Yagura, the Mizukage, sent after him back in Kirigakure to occupy his time, a need to actually do something grew inside him.

Apparently, the Gods heard his pleas after three full years of studying in the Academy.

_Flashback_

The Kaguya Clan Compound was finally finished, and its only owner had already moved in. Of course, it was impossible to prevent people from figuring out that Naruto lived there, so they just gave the excute that the two red dots on the entrance gate were the Uzumaki Clan symbol. Surprisingly, it worked fairly well.

He was exiting the Compound, waving the staff goodbye as he walked off. He always had had a thing for slow, calming walks. Even if they didn't calm him much.

He prefered the misty urban grounds of Kirigakure, but he couldn't really complain about Konoha's beauty either.

Besides, walking around the Hidden Leaf was always interesting, because despite the fact the boy had done it at least a hundred times, he always ended up somewhere he had never been to before.

That day was no different.

Around one hour of contemplating the village, he had effectively lost himself in the Eastern Market. It wasn't the most popular trading spot as it was well out of the way of most people and most travelers at well.

Which was still odd, since the boy considered it to be the best market in Konoha, both in quality and price. _Apparently, people value conveniency well above quality. _He thought to himself.

On this particular time, Naruto decided to ignore the ramen and food stands, delving deeper into the market itself, hoping to find something different. It was a rather deserted place, which made it easier for him to reach his goal.

In front of him stood a small blacksmith shop, named _"The Iron Maiden"._ Naruto had never even heard about it, but the Chinese appearance of it was more than enough to catch his attention.

He slid the door open, ringing a bell hidden above it, before walking in and closing it behind him. He was immediately dazed, to say the least.

Every inch of the wall was covered in deadly, masterfully created and maintained weapons of all sizes and styles.

Kunai, shuriken, katana, jyhou, kusarigama, spears, claymores, axes, senbon, trench knives, tanto, wakizashi, flails and even slingshots were just a few of the components of the vast arsenal that he was feasting his eyes upon.

He approached one of the corners, contemplating a chakra-blade Katana when he heard sounds of steps from behind him, immediately turning around to catch the thrown kunai.

In front of him stood Tenten, looking at himself with a big grin on her face. She had been like so for the whole day at the Academy, even though he had no idea why.

"Nice catch, Naruto. I see you've managed to find my father's weapon shop." She greeted, giving him the sweetest smile as he returned the deadly knife.

"Yes, it's rather pretty. I'd guess you are the "Iron Maiden"? He responded, receiving a wide grin and a nod from her.

"Yup, dad always calls me that. But don't you dare do it too, or I swear that my next kunai will not be as easy to avoid."

Naruto swallowed dry before nodding, knowing that Tenten's threats were never in vain. She promptly giggled at his reaction before a lightbulb formed over her head.

"Oh, I totally forgot, did you get me a gift?" She asked out of nowhere, making Naruto's eyes widen slightly.

"G-Gift?" He replied. She giggled again.

"Don't be silly! You know damn well that today is my birthday! I become ten years old today!" She explained, making his inner self curse himself. Of course it was her birthday! He had known ever since she met her!

"Oh. Well, duh, of course I have your gift! But it's a surprise! So you have to close your eyes!" Naruto proclaimed, making her look at him oddly before shrugging and closing her eyelids

_Nice save, but what the hell am I going to give her?_ He wondered, looking around, before realizing that he couldn't really give her a weapon from her own store.

Suddenly, something he saw his mother doing in battle came to mind, and he decided that that is what he should give the bun-haired girl. Even if it would hurt a bit.

_Well, this is going to hurt like a bitch. Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru._

He had a bit of his spine get out of his skin, right behind his neck and he gripped it hard with his right hand, preparing himself for the pain.

He slowly pulled it out, wincing and letting out a few whimpers as he did so, making the girl in front of him raise an eyebrow.

"Is everything ok, Naruto?"

"Yeah..yeah, everything is fine..." He responded between gritted teeth, determined not to let her discover what was happening as he finally managed to remove it fully, almost immediately regrowing the original in his body.

He managed to regain his composure and force a convincing smile, ignoring the pain that still remained before extending the weapon towards her.

"You can open your eyes now." He declared.

As she obeyed, it was as if she had seen God himself. The whip made out of sharp bone and cartilage looked like the perfect medium range weapon.

It was just so beautiful in her eyes. It was an absolute masterpiece. She could not wait to test it out on any of the unfortunate wooden dummies that inhabited her garden.

"N-Naruto. I have no idea how to thank you for this! Where did you get it? Did you make it yourself? It's amazing!" Tenten commented on it, having the blond boy smile and rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's a secret. Happy Birthday! I've got to go!" He bid, but the look in her eyes told him otherwise.

"Oh hell no. You and me are going to have some fun with this bad boy in my own training ground. Bring a weapon or not, it's your choice. But there's not way I'm letting you go right now. Since you didn't tell me your "secret", you owe me that much." She responded, tying the whip around her arm, threatningly.

He cried on the inside, knowing how much one of the Kaguya's Dead Bone Pulse Bone Weapons would hurt as he took out the bone sword from his left shoulder as she turned around. _This is going to hurt so much..._

_End Flashback_

From that day forward, he never had the luxury of being bored again, as Tenten kept him occupied with daily sparring and kenjutsu.

She had gotten amazingly good at fighting with her whip, which proved to be a challenge to Naruto, who had to get close enough to try and hit her with his bone sword as she tried to keep him at bay.

Needless to say, both finished the spar sessions with multiple cuts and bruises on their bodies.

But eventually, all of that hard work had payed off. Naruto was now twelve years old, and Tenten was fourteen. It was the day for them to graduate from the Academy and finally become Genin-class ninja.

Apparently, the new age for graduation was fourteen, as Konoha was trying to improve the strength and capability of its Genin, setting the age for average Chuunin around sixteen to eighteen, and the age for powerful Jounin around twenty-five. All of them were the minimum, and only ninja who really stood above the charts were accepted into a rank where they couldn't be accepted into because of their age.

They also made the Academy Graduation Ceremony harder. Instead of being the regular Bunshin and Henge technique exams, they were made up of specialization tests, in order to be fair.

For example, someone that specialized in genjutsu would be tested in genjutsu. They'd have to show their skills in battle using illusions and illusions alone. That way, the discrimination for pure taijutsu users like Maito Gai when he was younger was over, and talents that would otherwise be ignored would be let to blossom.

Tenten had decided that she would have herself tested in Bukijutsu, since it was the area she shone in. Naruto didn't doubt she'd easily pass. Especially with her bone whip. In those three years, the bun-haired girl really did invest a lot of time in using it, and from their spars, the "blond" boy knew she was familiarized enough with it to actually be able to destroy and slash steel apart by simply wrapping her whip around it and pulling.

Thank Kami for the bone sword he used, that thankfully could not be broken apart by any other bone.

The girl did ask Naruto many other times about how he had come into the possession of such powerful and refined weapons. Of course, he couldn't tell her, but did bring her a new weapon made from his Kekkei Genkai for every birthday, knowing she loved them. So far, she had the whip, a bow with the cord made out of cartilage, a dagger, a gigantic, five-tipped shuriken and he was considering getting her a bone longsword for the upcoming one. How he had made them, he did not know. He just knew that a week or so before her big day, he'd dream about the weapon he was going to make, and would suddenly wake up, creating it and going back to sleep.

He wasn't quite sure as to how it worked, but he didn't worry too much about it.

Getting back on topic, Naruto himself was going to take the KenTaijutsu test, a mix of the swordfighting techniques and hand-to-hand combat that only a handful of students had ever tried.

The way the tests were held was a bit unorthodox. If the students wanted to pass, they had to fight one of their teachers or someone that is already a ninja and be able to hold their own against them for at least five minutes while only using the style that they had chosen before.

Unfortunately, after a rather long training session, the two had lost track of time, and were rather late to the test, deciding to run as fast as they could until they arrived.

…...

A couple of minutes later, they were both standing by the three only students that still had to be tested. The rest had already been approved or denied, and had no other reason to stick around. _Thank Kami for us being the two last numbers in class._ Naruto praised the goddess.

"Alright, kid. You pass in the discipline of genjutsu, come by tomorrow in the afternoon to receive your forehead protector." Mizuki declared as he stopped the fight between himself and the boy that stood before him.

"OH BOY, I WON! AND ALL WITH HARD WORK! YES, YES, YES!" He yelled in delight as he skipped away. Lee was his name. Naruto never really payed him much attention, but he did know that the boy was hard-working, and generally, his hard work payed off.

"Next!" Mizuki asked as one of the three boys in line walked forth. Tenten yawned. This was going to be boring.

…...

Neither of the matches were particularly interesting. Only one of the students passed, and it was in Ninjutsu. He had made clever use of jutsu like Henge and Kawarimi, and so, managed to last the five minutes.

"Now, Wakizashi Tenten!" She was called out as she turned to Naruto with glee on her face. He gave her a sweet smile as she whispered to him.

"Wish me good luck!"

He did as she turned around again, heading for the white-haired Chuunin, who gave her a critical eye before reading the sheet of paper he had on his hands.

"So you're the one who chose...Bukijutsu?" He asked before looking at her as she nodded with a smile on her face. She had a white dagger attached the outward side of her left knee with bandages, a gigantic white star that was the size of her whole upper body attached to her back, a whip on its "sheath" by the right side of her waist and an arm-tied white crossbow with various white darts.

Mizuki prepared himself for battle as he swallowed dry.

…...

Five minutes, fifteen hits and inumerous cuts and scratches later, Mizuki had finally had enough and gave Tenten the passing grade.

"Congratulations, you've passed, now please, go home or at least stay away for a bit. I still have to fight this last student." He asked. She promptly nodded as she walked back to Naruto.

"I did it! I really did it! I'm going to be a ninja!" She squealed in happiness as he looked at her with his calm, friendly smile.

"Good job Tenten. I knew you'd do it all along. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." He responded. He had always been really calm, and Tenten appreciated it. Everyone was too hyper and kind of aggressive on life. Not violent, of course, but always took everything too seriously. So, being around something that was always laid-back and careless like the blond was great for her.

"Hell. No. I'm going to watch. Mizuki-sensei managed to land five hits on me in these five minutes even though he wasn't trying. Now, I want to see if you can break that record." Of course, he valued her because she made his life more lively, more rushed. She was the one who got him into competitions mostly, and mostly, he ended up enjoying them.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You're going to practice KenTaijutsu. Step forward. You know the rules. Five minutes. Manage to last that long without taking more than ten hits and you pass. You have to deal at least five hits on me. It's forbidden to use any technique outside of KenTaijutsu for you. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Alright, begin!"

By their side, Iruka pressed a button on his chronometer, closely checking the time to be as inpartial as possible.

Naruto and Mizuki began slowly circling each other, as the former unsheated his short bone sword from its sheath on his back. The white-haired Chuunin eyed the weapon strangely, but gave no further notice of it.

Suddenly, Mizuki unstraped the gigantic iron shuriken he had on his back and swung, sending it spinning at incredible speeds towards Naruto, forcing him to do something.

What he did not know, was that Kaguya clan members were trained in swordfighting as soon as they could walk. Manouvering a sword was second nature to them, and so, it wouldn't be surprising to anyone from the clan itself to see the way Naruto stuck his sword inside the shuriken's center hole, stopping it from going any further, but still seeing it spin.

He himself spun before slicing the air that to him was in front of Mizuki, sending the shuriken back to its owner, whose eyes were wide.

Of course, you can't stop a spinning, sharp and heavy metal object from continuing its course with simple Chuunin strength, and so Mizuki decided to simply dodge it, letting his former weapon go through the space he was in moments before before crashing into a tree.

Naruto had sent it with enough force for it to completely cut through the old oak, making the upper body fall and crash, almost crushing Mizuki on the way.

The Chuunin himself was scared shitless from what the Genin could do, and still had his back turned to the blond as he stared at the destruction.

When he did decide to turn around, his face met Mister Right Fist, which sent him flying over the fallen tree and onto the ground, a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth.

_One hit, four to go. _Naruto thought to himself.

"Three minutes left." Iruka announced. Mizuki had apparently had enough of the kid and had grabbed a kunai from his pouch, dashing over to Naruto and ready to do some serious damage.

He went for an overhead slash which was easily deflected by the bone sword, which gave Mizuki an opportunity to spin and drive his left elbow into the boy's skull.

Sadly for him, that was not to happen as Naruto ducked and spun while crouched, sweeping the Chuunin's legs out from under him, making him fall to the ground.

Mizuki was determined not to lose to a child as he fell with his hands on the ground and his lower body bent, performing a kip-up.

Naruto was already expecting this, and was ready with a charged left side kick that canonned Mizuki through a far distance, making him tumble through the ground. _Two hits._

"Two minutes left."

As Iruka pointed out that time was running out, Naruto decided it was time to take the offensive and get the job done as he made a mad dash towards his opponent, who was now slowly raising up.

Mizuki saw him coming and threw the kunai straight at the boy's head. But Naruto, in a show of great control and a strong relationship with his own weapon, managed to stick the Bone Sword's point through the knife's small hole on its end, spin and throw it back.

As the Chuunin dodged his own kunai, Naruto got in close and jumped, delivering a spinning hook kick to the man's head.

Mizuki's right arm was there to block it, but Naruto managed the agility to pull his own leg back down while delivering a roundhouse with the other, making his opponent's head spin.

As the white-haired man wondered what was up with all of those stars, Naruto readied yet another tornado kick, hitting him square on the face.

"Konoha Toppu!" He proclaimed the technique's name as Mizuki was sent flying away, crashing to the ground when landing. _One hit left..._

"One minute left."

Mizuki took his time shaking his head to try and get the chirping birds away before getting back up. He was about to shout something at the blond when a familiar sound of something rotating at high speeds through the air reached his ears.

"What goes around, comes around." Naruto wisely said as Mizuki just barely managed to duck under the gigantic shuriken, which went flying at the blond, eager to slice him to shreds.

But it was not to happen as Naruto stuck the bone sword through the hole and into the floor, keeping the shuriken spinning in place as he readied himself for the final hit.

Mizuki was now up again and about to swear at the kid he was facing when he noticed he was nowhere to be seen.

When he realized Naruto was behind him, it was too late, as the boy drove his right elbow into his back while in a crouched position.

"Hissatsu: Biggu Webu!" (Sure Kill: Big Wave) Naruto proclaimed as he focused all of his chakra into the tip of his elbow, transfering it to Mizuki's body and only then releasing it, forcing a sphere of dark chakra to spread itself outward of the Chuunin, before dissipating, and finally letting the white-haired man fall to the floor, completely unconscious.

"That's my ultimate Taijutsu technique. As I drive my elbow into the enemy, I focus my chakra on the tip of my elbow. But instead of exploding it there and cracking a few ribs, I force inside of the opponent and only then do I release the chakra itself. That makes it so I can actually control what happens, either making the opponent unconscious, like Mizuki-sensei, or killing him if I wish." He explained his technique as Iruka stared at him with a blank face. It was only a few seconds later that the other Chuunin managed to utter something.

"Congratulations...you pass."

Naruto had a content smile on his face as he walked up to Tenten, who was happy as well. She had helped the boy design the technique, and knew it would be a great ace in the hole to have. Both had passed, and now, they were going to celebrate.

**And that was chapter 2 for you guys. Thank you so much for reading, and thanks for actually liking this story. I hope you enjoy reading this one. If you do, please Favorite/ Follow and Review, it helps a lot! See you soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Congratulations to every boy and girl that is present! You've managed to graduate the ninja Academy and are now ready to begin your duty and serve your village!" Iruka declared, receiving thunderous cheers from all of the now ex-students, and the present parents.

Even Tenten's father was there, a proud smile on his face as his left hand rested on his daughter's head.

The only one who was there without at least one parental or family figure was Naruto himself. Not that it bothered him that much. Having any of his relatives over at this particular celebration wouldn't end well.

They were all in the courtyard directly outside of the Academy's main entrance. A table was setup outside, holding dozens of forehead protectors with the Konohagakure symbol engraved on them. They were brand-new, and aside Naruto, there was no student that could take their eyes off of the shiny metal.

"Now, I will call each of you in your respective order, and as I call you, I want you to come forth and accept your forehead protector. I will also reveal what team you've been positioned in as you come, and the location that your mentor has specified you should go to after the ceremony. Are we clear?"

The mass of students gave off a "HAI, SENSEI" in unison, making Iruka smile. There was just something that he loved about seeing orderly children who had matured with him for so long to still respect him. Or maybe it was for the fact that they respected him at all.

"Alright, then I'll start. First,"

…...

On went a long, long Graduation Ceremony that would be able to bore even the most patient and attentious saint in the world. Student after boring student would step up, receive the same words from Iruka, get their forehead protector and move out, getting something from their parents along the lines of "Let's get you some ice cream." or "Kid, let's go bowling."

It was only nearly an hour later that Tenten's turn came, and forth went the bun-haired girl, all of her weapons still equipped. Iruka gave her some kind words about going to miss her before delivering her forehead protector and handing her a small sheet of paper, indicating the time and place where they should meet their Jounin leader.

After so, she came running back, showing her father the forehead protector that she had already traditionally tied around her forehead.

The muscled, two meter tall, black-bearded bald guy who wore a blacksmith's apron and a couple of of dark leather pants and boots quickly picked her up, throwing her in the air and catching her in a hug. Naruto had never seen such a display of love and pride. It was pure. It was...good.

"Last but not least, Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called out as the blond approached, leaving daughter and father to themselves.

As he walked over, he pondered over what was about to happen. After seven years in the village, he was about to become a shinobi. Not because he wanted to, but because his mother had asked him to. Now that she was gone, he had no idea about what to do. No matter what, he simply could not shrug off the feeling that he didn't belong in that place.

He didn't feel at home. He had no friends except Tenten to begin with, and he also predicted that if their spars went on Neji would sooner or later go overboard and try to kill him, most probably dying while trying.

So many worries, and all because he was forced to leave. All because of that piece of shit Mizukage, Yagura.

He finally reached his destination as Iruka handed over the forehead protector, a wide smile on his face as he did so.

"Now you, you I am especially proud of. You came into the Academy, two years in with no history of being formally taught anything, and managed to graduate at the top of the class. You, more than many others, deserve this!" The Chuunin exclaimed as he gave Naruto the metal rite of passage. The blond didn't look at it twice as he tied it around his waist, like a belt.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei. It's been a pleasure. How's Mizuki-sensei doing after yesterday?" He responded, making his former teacher smile even more.

"It's been a pleasure for me too. And thanks! I've been wanting to do what you did to that asshole for a few years now. He's still in the hospital, recovering. Anyway, here's the details of where you're going now and when. Farewell, Naruto!" Iruka answered as he delivered the small "card", which pointed out: Training Ground Number 6, tomorrow at 14:30.

"Farewell, sensei."

He turned around, now a bit more sure about what he wanted to do with his life. At least with part of it. The Kaguya were a proud clan. No matter what, he'd have his revenge for what happened. What he didn't expect was that events regarding said subject would come so early.

"Naruto, I can't stay for long. Dad says he's got something for me at home. I can't see you too son, maybe tomorrow after I meet up with my team?" The bun-haired girl made him snap out of his little endeavor planning.

"Yeah, sure Tenten. I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun."

The girl quickly spun around and went back to the Hercules that was her father. The man gave Naruto a weird look, but quickly returned to his business, throwing his daughter in the air and making it so she fell, sitting on his shoulders.

The "blond" boy took a deep breath before sighing and walking along. His life was too boring. Too predictable. Rise from bed, eat breakfast, train Taijutsu, spar with Neji, eat lunch, train Kenjutsu, spar with Tenten, eat dinner and spend the rest of the time meditating before going to sleep. It was too calm. Too serene. Too peaceful.

His clan's members weren't made for peace. They were a clan that rose in war and in the heat of battle. Their highest honor would be to die covered in the blood of their enemies. And yet, there he was, ready to head home and spend the rest of the day alone.

Suddenly, he felt movement by his left side. A figure wearing a dark cloak landed in the dark alley that he was walking through, and he didn't even need to check to know it was ANBU.

"Oi, Oi, don't be that sudden. Next time, I might just give in to my impulses of killing you. Understand?" Naruto called him out, making the Black Ops Operative sweatdrop at the threat, obviously not expecting such a spike of killing intention from a young boy.

"I-I'm sorry, Uzumaki-sama. But the Third Hokage has summoned you. Please, if you'd allow me to take you..." He responded, making the "blond" raise a curious eyebrow.

"No need." Naruto replied, performing the Boar hand seal. His body blurred, and suddenly, he was no more.

The ANBU once again sweatdropped at the sight of Naruto vanishing. _Such a terrifying boy..._

…...

A mere milissecond later, Naruto was standing right in front of the Third Hokage, who was eyeing him curiously.

"Been fiddling around with your Kekkei Genkai again, have you Naruto?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. The "blond" eyed him as well.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama, but I neither have the time nor the patience for small talk at the moment. What is the reason you've summoned me for?"

Hiruzen sighed, as he was displeased with Naruto's attitude as of late, and also with the news he had to present him with. He knew it was a bother for the boy to be in the Academy when he should be already a Chuunin, but there was nothing he himself could do about it.

"I'm afraid I've got good news and bad news for you. Which would you like to receive first?" He asked. Naruto shrugged.

"The good news first. I have a feeling the bad news will be the outcome of the good ones." He responded, making the Third smile on the inside. Naruto had always been quite the smart boy.

"Well, the good news are, a criminal organization has hunted down and murdered Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, in cold blood. From what I know, his death was quite gruesome and painful. They didn't go easy on him." He announced. Naruto let a smirk come to his face. Those were good news indeed.

"And what of the bad news?"

"The bad news are, Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, has somehow found out that the late Kaguya Clan had one surviving member, and she's tracked down her leads to you. No one else knows of this, but none-the-less, she's requested a meeting with you and you alone."

Naruto blinked his eyes rapidly as he processed the information, and finally wondered if he had heard wrong or the new Mizukage was just really stupid.

"Hell. No. That's either a really obvious trap to assassinate me or a foolish attempt to have me return to the Mist. No way." He replied, turning around and heading for the door.

"Naruto, I know you don't want to do this, but she explicitly said that she'd understand if you wouldn't want to do so, but that she has answers about your past, and would more than happily answer any and all of your questions if you agreed to come."

He stopped. He pretty much knew nothing about himself except that he was a Kaguya and he had inherited two types of Kekkei Genkai. If this woman was telling the truth, then maybe, just maybe he could start uncovering the mystery that was his life.

"Fine. When and where is it?"

"In a month. They'll specify the location then."

"I'll have to get ready if it's a trap. Make sure to give my team a tough mission. I need to refine my skills."

"Of course. Oh, and Naruto?"

He turned around.

"Please, don't do anything stupid."

The boy didn't grant a reply as he turned around again and blurred, disappearing from the office entirely.

…...

His night didn't go too well, as his sleep was assaulted with multiple nightmares starring Yagura laughing and looking down at them, and his mother screaming for his own name. Countless times did he try to save her, but his feet wouldn't move.

He was in complete darkness, his mother was a few feet ahead, and try he did to run towards her and stop her from sobbing, but his legs wouldn't respond. Actually, he had no legs, as he was slowly being sucked into the darkness, as if it was quick-sand.

The last thing he got to see before he was completely buried in it was the red head of a gigantic, demonic fox, glaring at him with enough killing intention for him to be frozen in fear.

"GAH!" He screamed as he woke up, soaked in sweat. He kicked the sheets off of him and fell to the floor. That fucking fox. So many times had he seen it in his dreams, but he never even got to close to understanding whatever the hell it was.

It was the third night that his sleep was prevented by whatever demon resented him. Luckily, the bags under his real eyes were hidden by the genjutsu that his mother had placed on him.

Speaking of which, the sigh he gave revealed yet another frustration. He was sick and tired, not just literally but also figuratively of having to hide his true self. Taking another name and appearance like a nameless refugee was disgusting to the heir of such a proud clan as the Kagua.

His door was swiftly opened as his housekeeper, Jun, walked in.

"Naruto-kun, I heard a scream coming from here. Is everything alright? Do you need something?"- the old, wrinkled lady asked with a sweet smile. He sighed.

"Everything's alright, Jun-baa-chan. Please ready my Training Ground, I'm going to practice Kenjutsu." He responded, immediately receiving a nod from the woman. Jun had always obeyed her young master's orders without hesitating, even if they were given at three am.

She closed the door, and Naruto blinked. It was going to be a long night.

…...

"Hello there, my most youthful companions! Beautiful day, isn't it?" The spandex-clad grown man greeted the trio with the most shining smile and a thumbs up, executing the Nice Guy™ pose.

When Naruto, Neji and Tenten had arrived at the small field of grass, they had almost immediately spotted their Jounin, mostly due to the fact that he was performing a handstand pushup with only his right index and middle fingers, than to their own skills of observation.

Tenten, upon meeting Naruto at the team rendezvouz spot, almost shined like a star. She was so excited that she positively glowed. Naruto didn't know why, though.

Neji hadn't been able to hide his smirk, and the reason to it wasn't a mystery. Now, he could keep an eye on his rival's training and progress, and therefore, surpass him.

"My name is Maito Gai, I am twenty-seven years old, I love training and pushing my limits and I hate negative and unyouthful people. My dream is to prove that Taijutsu is a valid ninja ability.

Now, who are you?" He introduced himself, almost immediately pointing to the excited, bun-haired girl who had her arms high in the air, as if saying "Me, Me, Me!".

"My name is Wakizashi Tenten, I am fourteen years old, I love sparring with friends and taking care of my weapons. I hate anyone who looks down on Kunoichi just for the fact that we are female and anyone that mocks me for specializing in Bukijutsu. My dream is to become as recognized as Tsunade-sama of the Sannin!"

"THAT IS SO YOUTHFUL! YOU ARE ACCEPTED AS MY STUDENT! I AM SO FIRED UP I WILL PERFORM TEN THOUSAND PUSHUPS AS THE OTHER TWO BOYS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES! YOU, WITH THE WHITE EYES, GO!" The Handsome Beast declared after Tenten's introduction before pointing to Neji and finally dropping to do the pushups. Naruto could bet that even with Neji's eyes, he still wouldn't be able to count how many pushups Gai was doing per second, as he had simply become a blur.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji, I am fourteen years old. I dislike any who try to fight fate and the destiny that was written for them, and there is too little I like to actually describe it. My dream is to make the Hyuuga Clan as recognized as it should be."

"NOT SO YOUTHFUL! I'M BEGINNING TO LOSE FAITH AND MOTIVATION, AND I'M ONLY FIVE THOUSAND PUSHUPS IN! IF THE NEXT STUDENT IS NOT YOUTHFUL ENOUGH, I WILL FAIL AND I WILL DO FIVE LAPS AROUND KONOHA ON MY EYEBROWS! AND YOU WILL COME WITH ME!" The Jounin responded, making a tick mark appear on the Hyuuga's forehead, a smile and a giggle come out of Tenten and a sigh come out of Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm twelve years old. I like one or two girls, ramen and training. I dislike any who judge others without having been in their shoes before. My dream is to find answers about my long lost and dead clan and make it rise again."

"NOW THAT WAS YOUTHFUL! AS SOON AS YOU CONCLUDED YOUR INTRODUCTION I WAS ALREADY AT ELEVEN THOUSAND PUSHUPS! THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH SMILES ON ME AGAIN! YEAH! FOR THAT, WE'RE ALL GETTING LUNCH AT INUZUKA'S GRILL. I'M PAYING! LET'S GO!"

With that, Gai shot off at nearly the speed of sound as Tenten followed, giggling to herself like a maniac. Naruto turned his head to face Neji, whose' tick mark had only grown. The boy looked back at him with his white eyes, and Naruto smirked.

"Race ya?"

…...

Two minutes, three turned over fruit carts and uncountable pedestrians swearing and cursing them later, Naruto and Neji arrived at the famous restaurant owned by the dog-loving family. The "blond" had won the race, of course.

"I'll win next time." Was the only thing the Hyuuga said before following their new sensei in, as a scowling Naruto went behind him.

It was a nice place. The center tables had four chairs to six chairs each, while the ones by the right or left windows simply had two long benches with backs for people to sit on. It was calm, with plenty of empty space despite the numerous clients. Gai chose a table for four by one of the windows. It gave a nice view of the village.

The Taijutsu Master asked for one gigantic mix of all kinds of meat known as the restaurant's speciality: "Dog Hunt".

As the drinks and the meat came, Gai explained to them what was going to happen.

"Now, most Jounin like giving their new Genin team a test where they see if you're really apt of becoming a ninja. I, although, choose not to, since I've picked you three as my team ever since you were just children."

As he spoke, the three Genin's eyes widened. They had been scouted to be in a particular team by a Jounin when they were mere infants? Did that mean they were special?

"Now, most teams in Konoha have a strict objective. Teams with Inuzuka, Aburame and sometimes Hyuuga members are mostly teams of trackers, just like when teams with Nara, Akichi and Yamanaka are normally teams designed for stalling dangerous enemies until reinforcements come. That means, our team has one as well."

"But what could that be? I'm a Hyuuga, skilled in the Gentle Fist and the Byakugan. Tenten is a known Bukijutsu user and Naruto, well, Naruto is known for being a master of the Kentaijutsu style. We don't have any particular skill of support, like stalling or tracking." Neji replied, curious about what purpose the spandex-wearing Jounin had thought for them. Gai just smiled.

"Of course not. We're not support material. We're much more more than that. Kids, welcome to Konoha's Close-Quarters Team. We're the offensive. We're the battering ram that crushes the walls of an enemy castle. We're the Ox that charges the pack of wolves and sends them flying. We're the ones that the Tracker Teams take with them, and the ones that the Stalling teams wait for. With Naruto's skill in destructive combat, Neji's abilities in lethal and accurate battle and Tenten's grace in long-ranged, precise and both destructive and lethal war, you three will become famous in no time."

They were all struck with awe. No matter what, they never expected Gai to be so motivational. He knew how to give a speech. But still, they all agreed with his point of view, their abilities were the best of the best in their area, and they probably wouldn't fare off very well in any other job aside from destruction, murder and assassination.

"I won't sugar-coat it for you. It's hard. Our bodies must be fully prepared at all times to encounter enemies, and our missions will be all about fighting, killing and the like. So, if anyone has anything against that, you should speak now or forever remain silent."

They stood quiet for a few moments, not touching their drinks or food, simply thinking over the situation. Gai had been blunt, but it was better that way.

"The Gentle Fist was first created for quick assassination and murder. I'd be steering away from my own destiny if I stepped down now. I'm in." Neji was the first to agree, determination in his face, and, if Naruto was correct, accompanied by a bit of rebellion.

"I've been training with blades and blunt objects ever since I was able to hold a kunai. To simply back off of my team because I refuse to kill would be the most hypocritical thing I'd ever do. My weapons hunger for blood, and so do I. I'm in." Tenten was the second, a bit of sadism on her face as well.

The three looked over to Naruto, who had a very serious expression on his face. However, it changed to anger, no, wrath in a matter of seconds.

"I was deprived of my home and family because I was considered a demon who'd kill in cold blood even though I was just a child. Well, it's high time I become that fucking demon. Bring them on. I'm in."

**CHAPTER 3 DELIVERED BEFORE MIDNIGHT! (Victory Dance) I hope you all enjoy this chapter, but if you don't, it's alright, action is coming soon, regarding one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure. And no, it's not Zabuza, so don't think you know what's coming xD**

**On another subject, next chapter I'm introducing a character from a different Anime or Manga, and I'd like to know if any of you have any objections, since I plan to introduce three more for the rest of the fic. Don't worry, they're all beautiful ladies, so I guess at least half of you don't mind it now.**

**Oh, and they're from Soul Eater. Anyway, Follow/Favorite and Review! I'll see you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Two Weeks Later**

The three Genin had finally managed to adapt their bodies to Gai's unforgiving training regime. It was completely brutal and unpredictable. If the Jounin suddendly decided it was leg day, they would spend the day shifting between kicking a large wooden pole several times, jump-roping with two hundred kilograms of weights on their feet and doing a thousand laps around Konoha under twenty minutes.

Tenten was always excited and happy that she was finally receiving serious training, and seemed like an endless source of energy. But Naruto could see right through her smile that she was absolutely exhausted. The "blond" was no sexist, but it was common knowledge that women couldn't handle as much effort and exercise on their bodies as men could. It was biological.

Besides, if even Neji dropped dead on the ground, panting like a dog by the end of the day, it was impossible for Tenten to actually be doing well.

He himself was starting to feel the brutality wear on his body. But he could ignore the pain, given the fact that all of their bodies were already growing stronger, faster and more resiliant.

Gai himself knew he was beating them up, and that most teams could never withstand this kind of fitness program, not even for a week. But they weren't a normal team. They were the Assault and Combat team, and more than anyone, they needed this training.

Aside the brutal training, Gai's team was also taking part on multiple D-rank missions. Gai was quite merciful in that area, and didn't bury them in crappy house-hapinting, dog-walking or weed-picking missions. They almost always went on wild animal hunting or bandit fighting, in order to train their teamwork.

Speaking of which, their cooperation methods were probably the only complaint that the Jounin could make. They weren't the most common. Instead of complimenting eachothers' strengths and making up for weaknesses, they just decided amongst themselves to split up the jobs in each mission.

If they had to fight six bandits, each would have two to face and that would be that. Gai did not quite like this, but he knew that teamwork was built over time, experience and stressful situations, not when they're hunting wild boar.

Finally noticing his team's moral decreasing, he decided it would be a good idea to provide them with a C-rank mission, both to cheer them up and make them work together.

Which explained why they were now currently in the Hokage Office, asking for their next task.

"Team Gai, as lively and fearsome-looking as always! What do you need today? Another D-rank? I think I've got one for you somewhere..." The Third greeted them with his usual smile, before rummaging through his desk top.

"Actually, Hokage-sama, I think the team is ready for their first C-rank mission." Gai interrupted him.

"Oh, I see! Need a bit of action, aye? Well, I do have a bandit camp raid here..."

But again, he was interrupted.

"Please, grandfather do not forget the promise you've made me regarding what will happen two weeks from now." Naruto asked of him, making the old Hiruzen flinch while looking at the "blond", taking puffs out of his pipe.

"Alright. I do have another one."

He opened a very specific drawer on his desk and took a small scroll out of it.

"Just two hours ago, a beautiful young lady came by asking for a team of ninja to escort her back to her home in the Village Hidden in the Frost, starting tomorrow. She's afraid of bandits and such, but her face revealed shame, and I'm sure she's hiding something. If you accept this mission, keep an eye out for anything."

"We accept, Hokage-sama. Thank you for your kindness and see you soon."

Gai turned around, holding the scroll while walking out of the office, being followed by his team.

He took them back to their Training Ground, sitting on one of the many benches that stood by the edges of the forest. Neji leaned against a tree, much like Tenten, while Naruto sat, cross-legged on a tree branch, right over Gai.

"This mission is a C-rank. Its objectives are to escort Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, a blacksmith from Shimogakure back to her home and defend her from whatever threat may come. It ends when we safely deliver her there and return to Konoha, where we get payed." The Jounin declared, making Neji scowl.

"I can already smell deceit." He said. Naruto nodded.

"The lands between Konohagakure and Shimogakure are peaceful, and only very rarely do bandits even appear." He supported.

"And I myself know that every blacksmith trains with and knows how to use their weapons. My father and mother never were ninja and I know they could handle as much as a group of Genin by themselves. It doesn't make sense that she'd need protection." Tenten finished. Gai nodded as well.

"Precisely. This Camellia's true flower is not blooming, but that does not mean she doesn't require help. No matter what, this might be a good combat and teamwork training opportunity. We'll find out the truth on the way."

"Hai, Gai-sensei!"

…...

**The Next Day: 14:00**

The three were by Konoha's North-East gate, where they were supposed to meet their client. They had their backpacks filled with weapons, clothes and sleeping bags, all ready for what should be a week-long mission.

Tsubaki was a tall, attractive and rather well-endowed seventeen years old young woman. She wore a pale yellow, sleeveless outfit with a skirt end that had a slit down the side with a bright yellow star emblazoned on the right side of the chest. She also wore a dark brown scarf and a tight dark brown stocking on her right leg starting just above the knee and white boots. She wore a grey sash that wrapped around her waist twice and hanged down diagonally from right to left. She had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and large indigo eyes.

She was one of the nicest people that Naruto ever met, and he could already tell he was going to like this mission.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one, as Neji couldn't take his white eyes off of her ever since he took the first look, not even having the decency of staring through his Byakugan. Action which, Naruto could see, was starting to Tsubaki off as well. He grinned.

As they started their trip, Gai begun asking the girl inumerous innocent questions and making small talk, distracting her from the uncomfortable position that his Hyuuga student was putting her in, while also trying to see if he could get something out of her as well.

She, although appreciating the distraction, was a bit shy, and even though she did answer the questions, she answered in small sentences that didn't reveal much of anything at all, straying from subject when Gai's questions actually got serious.

But not everyone had such an interest on the girl. Although she was being discrete and professional about it, Tenten couldn't from Naruto the fact that she didn't like Tsubaki.

The "blond" didn't know why the bun-haired Kunoichi disliked their client, but something about Tenten's face reminded him of the face cats make when they see other cats invade their territory.

He shrugged to himself and kept walking. It had nothing to do with him. Or so he thought.

"So, Tsubaki, why do you worry about bandits? Aren't you a blacksmith? Can't you use your weapons?" Tenten asked, suspicion easily identified in her voice. Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Oh, well, I never really liked handling weapons that much. I always liked being handl- I mean, always preferred making them." She excused herself. Naruto sighed. It was going to be a long day.

…...

A couple of hours, multiple lame jokes by Gai, inumerous suspicious questions from Tenten followed by suspicious answers and a heavy dose of Neji's staring later, Naruto finally found something with which to occupy himself.

As they managed to venture into the land of Hot Water, which was in the way of their trip, he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was someone around. And he could never ignore his sensations, which were so many times right.

Gai looked at him as they were all walking in an horizontal line, and quickly figured out what was happening.

"Tsubaki-chan, please stay in the middle of us. The rest, form a triangle around her. I'll be up in the front of it." He ordered with a very quiet voice. The three quickly obeyed, Naruto being in front of the girl, Neji being at her left and Tenten by her right.

The Hyuuga closed his eyes for a second before opening them, activating his bloodline limit. The Byakugan quickly examined the entire area, scouting for enemies. _One, two, three...four._

"SUITON: SUIBEN! (Water Release: Water Whip)" Three voices echoed, as three of their surrounding enemies made long whips of water come out of their palms and envelop the triangle formation, bounding the three ninja and the blacksmith together. No matter what, they couldn't move.

"HAHAHAHA...so this is the elite ninja team that you hired to protect you? Man, when the boss said they'd be from Konoha, I was actually worried. How stupid I was, right?" A voice called out as a man with long, spiky hair, dark eyes and a goatee approached. He wore a dark blue jacket, grey pants, sandals and a bandana that held his hair away from his face.

With him, the other three attackers also approached, all holding their respective whips.

One of them was muscular, tough-looking. He wore a black, sleeveless shirt, grey pants, ninja sandals and arm warmers. He had chin-length grey hair which spiked at the top. He had a teal line marking that went over his nose.

The second was someone that Naruto would think out of Amegakure. He was right, as the boy wore a bandana with an Ame forehead protector on it.

The bandana covered most of his head, along with his face mask, allowing them only to see his dark eyes and chin-length brown hair. He wore the default Amegakure outfit.

The third was a woman. She was young, tall and slim. She had short, light brown hair, blue earrings, red lipstick and a white hairband over her head, holding the hair out of her eyes. She wore a pink tube top with an open, light-green shirt, navy blue pants and ninja sandals.

"We hit the jackpot, huh? Murusame, Kirisame, Hisame? Three ninja dead, plus the capture of our lovely target. This was easy as shit."

The others didn't have time to respond as they heard a giggle. They all turned their heads to Naruto who was now outright laughing at them. Their leader seemed confused.

"We'll see how much you laugh when I cut your bleeding head off! Takigakure-Ryū: Mizukiri no Yaiba! (Takigakure Style: Watercutting Sword)" He said as a strange sword made of solid water formed in his hands as he approached, menacingly waving it at Naruto.

He was about to strike when Neji started blurring.

"Hakkesho: Kaiten!"

The Hyuuga spun faster and faster until a small dome of blue chakra spread around himself, Tenten, Tsubaki and Naruto. The whips' grip was loosened, but it was still there, and the three ninja that had cast them were now flying as Neji's jutsu made their whips rotate at fast speeds.

Finally, he stopped, making all three go crash onto the ground, a tree or even into a bush.

Faster than he could process, one of the bandits, Murusame soon found his now created water sword clashed against Naruto's bone sword, measuring strengths with one another as Naruto looked him dead in the eye with a serious face.

"It's hard not to laugh at such a joke of a bandit." He taunted before kicking the man in the gut before getting ready.

"Tsubaki no mai. (Dance of the Camellia)" He proclaimed as suddenly, his movements became erratic.

"Tajuu Mizu Bunshin no jutsu! (Multiple Water Clones Technique)" His enemy followed, as dozens of clones of himself began to form, dashing towards Naruto as soon as they were complete.

Water was spread across the field as every single one of Naruto's movements were signalled by the deaths of each of the fifty clones.

He whirled and his sword slashed, beheading one of his enemies, before flipping in the air and thrusting, impaling another, not really caring to target them.

Through the corner of his eye he could see that Neji, Tenten and Gai were all dealing with the three others. Apparently, the Jounin wanted to see how well the boy would do against the leader.

"I, Murusame, a Chuunin from Takigakure will not lose to a pesky Genin!" He yelled as he rushed Naruto, who was just done with the last of the clones.

The boy jumped over him, flipping in the air again before dashing forward, sending a side kick to his enemy, who was turning around to face him.

Murusame side-stepped the kick, grasping his leg before spinning, releasing him and sending him crashing into a tree.

Fortunately, Naruto was agile enough to twist his body, land his feet on the tree and kick off of it, heading for Murusame again.

He blurred, leaving an afterimage before him as he showed up right in front of the Chuunin.

"Oborozukiyo! (Hazy Moon Night)" He struck the man with his sword, being blocked by the water weapon before smirking.

He let himself fall back on the ground and plant his hands on the ground, supporting himself for the kick that he delivered straight in Murusame's jaw.

Murusame gasped in surprise. The kick had been powerful enough to send him flying up, dropping his Water Sword.

Naruto dropped his weapon as well, blurring again before appearing right behind his victim, flying exactly at the same speed.

"Kage Buyo. (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf)"

Murusame looked behind him to see Naruto, but it was too late. Naruto delivered a right elbow straight to his head, stopping their ascent.

He followed up with a left jab and a tornado left kick, sending the man flying down at frightening speeds. But no one could do a thing about it. Not even Murusame himself.

As he looked up, he saw Naruto doing several frontflips in the air, almost looking like a wheel.

Realizing what the "blond" was about to do, he tried to let out a scream, but it was too late.

At the very second he hit the ground, Naruto's right foot crashed against his gut with the force of a falling car, making him cough out blood.

"Kuma Rendan! (Bear Barrage)" Naruto yelled, finishing Murusame off.

"Hakkesho: Kaiten!"

"Soshoryu!"

"Omote Renge!"

…...

Naruto rose from the agonizing Murusame to see Tenten, Neji and Gai had finished Hisame, Kirisame and the leader respectively.

A glance to the side revealed that Tsubaki was physically unharmed, and the only thing her facial expression let through was surprise. The whole fight had begun and ended in a mere couple of minutes.

"These poor sods didn't kow they were dealing with an assault team. I just love it when people underestimate me and end up like this." Tenten commented, looking down at the body of Hisame, which was covered in weapons. She didn't bother picking them up.

"At last we're done with them." Neji followed. Gai rose from the crater where the leader's body layed dead, hiding a scroll in his flak jacket.

"Great job, team! Fast and effective work! I am proud. Now, let's go! We have to walk a bit more before camping for night time."

The three nodded and started moving, except for Naruto, who looked back at Tsubaki and extended a welcoming arm.

"Tsubaki-chan, is there something wrong?"

She snapped out of whatever trance she was in and quickly shook her head, accepting his hand and walking by his side.

"Nothing, you just reminded me of someone I know..."

"Let's hurry up, wouldn't want them waiting on us."

…...

Night had fallen and their camp had been set up. They had had a light soldier pill dinner and immediately went into their sleeping bags in order to sleep.

He was currently sitting on a branch of a tree that was high enough to give him the best view over the moon.

It seemed bigger that night. It seemed calming and soothing as well.

"Why do you contemplate the moon with such sadness on your face?" A voice asked him. He didn't even need to turn his head to know who it was. Tsubaki had climbed to the branch right by the one he was sitting on.

"It reminds me of a time in life when everything was well and happiness was present." He answered.

"But then, why do you look at it?"

This time, he turned to her and gave her the most sorrow-filled look he could give.

"Because it's the only thing that calms the anger in my heart down." He responded. She rapidly blinked a few times before nodding. He gestured for her to come sit at the same branch as himself, by his side.

When she did so, he proceeded.

"Tell me, why do you lie to us? In my eyes, we're the only people who can help you right now, so in my eyes, we're the ones you should trust."

Tsubaki gave him a shocked look before her face turned into acceptance.

"How did you find out?"

"It wasn't too challenging. We were attacked by three missing Chuunin from various villages and one missing Jounin from Takigakure. Those aren't random bandits. Those are hired hitmen. I can see it in your face that you do not enjoy lying to us. Please, tell me the truth."

She remained silent for a couple of minutes before she let a single tear escape her eyes.

"For reasons I can not tell, I ended up in this world a year ago. I did not know where I was or what was happening, but I knew I couldn't go back. I ended up trying to fit in in the village Hidden in the Frost, while I tried to find a way back, even if I knew I couldn't."

"Since I'm good with weapons, I became a blacksmith. I gained the trust of people and their love as well. Everything was going fine until a mere two months ago."

"What happened?"

"There's this evil businessman, Gato, who knew we were a simple, small Village with no great military power, and he tried to conquer us via bandits and ninja like that. We were able to last the first few waves, but then..."

"Then he pulled out the big guns, right?"

She sniffed and nodded.

"..yes. He came one day and laughed at our faces, saying that it was only a matter of time before the city was his. He walked away, and in his place was a monster of a man. A man with a sword that exploded as it hit its mark. He decimated half of the village that day, saying he'd come back and kill ten people every day..."

This time, she took a short break to whimper, and Naruto laid his hand on her shoulder, giving her the courage to finish her story. A couple moments later, she proceeded.

"He did, for five weeks. I tried to fight against him, but he disarmed me in mere seconds...The next thing I knew I was in our doctor's bed, with every part of my body hurting and burning like crazy. That's when the villagers had the idea of me going to Konoha and ask for help. We didn't have much money left as Gato's bandits and goons had already robbed and burned most of it. So, I had no choice but to lie. I swear I wanted to say the truth! I really did! But I just couldn't risk it!"

By this point, she was outright crying, and Naruto had pulled her against his shoulder, comforting her the best he could. _A guy with a sword that explodes when it hits its mark, huh? Sounds a lot like a certain Swordsman..._

"Don't worry, Tsubaki. I don't care what Gai or my teammates say. If they decide to return to the village as they hear of this, I'll stick with you no matter what."

She sniffed a couple of times before looking up at him. His eyes seemed like stars in the dark night, and she almost lost herself in them.

"You..*sniff*..you will?"

"Of course I will. I'm the Great Naruto, after all..."

She looked at him with renowned confidence now, but only a single thought went through her head. _He sounds so much like him...looks like him too..._

**Chapter 4, my friends! Hope you all enjoy it! If you didn't, feel free to verbally kill me in the reviews section. If you liked it, though, Favorite/Follow and give a nice Review that'll make my day, alright? Thanks everyone, see you next time!**


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